GCSE classic poetry

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

GCSE Classic Poetry Compare the ways that William Blake and William Wordsworth present London in their poems "London" and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". The two poems "London" and "composed upon Westminster Bridge" give very different views of London. For example Blake gives the impression that London is a depressing, miserable, woeful place filled with sadness and corruption. Whereas, Wordsworth shows London in a very different light. He sees London as a peaceful place in the morning, filled with serenity and beauty. Blake shows many images in his poem. He shows the corruption within the church in the lines: "how every chimney sweeper's cry, every blackening church appals". This shows he thinks that the church should open its eyes to the poverty and hardship in the chimney sweepers lives and he shows that they are only children when he says that they cry. ...read more.

Middle

Blake shows that he thinks the people of London have been indoctrinated to be sad and woeful in the lines: "in every cry of every man, in every infants cry of fear... the mind forged manacles I hear". This shows that people can never be free because their minds have been put in manacles (handcuffs) to prevent them ever being free. In Wordsworths "composed upon Westminster Bridge", he shows that he thinks the morning is beautiful but he thinks that its beauty is lifted when the morning is gone. He shows this in the lines: "this city now doth like a garment wear, the beauty of the morning, silent, bare". He shows that, unlike Blake, he thinks the Thames and London is free. He shows this in the lines: "the river glideth at its own sweet will". ...read more.

Conclusion

These two poems have things that are similar and things that are different. For example they both refer to the Thames but in a different context. Blake describes it as being controlled by the crown whereas Wordsworth describes it as a free flowing river and that it represents freedom. The main difference is the ways that they portray London. Blake shows it as a miserable, woeful place, whereas Wordsworth shows it as a beautiful, serene, peaceful place. The two poets were writing at around the same times and they both had strong political views. These views strongly influenced their work but in very different ways because Blake was very opposed to the French revolution whereas Wordsworth was a strong supporter of the revolution. Luke Simpson ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE William Blake section.

Related GCSE William Blake essays

In lines 11 and 12 the speaker discuss the freedom of which he feels at sun rise, however this contrast greatly with "London" and its views. Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own free will: The speaker begins to use personification to

'Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down you'd treat, if met where any bar is, or help to half-a-crown' this shows the total opposite of the feeling of hate, it shows that whatever or how old 'quaint' war you would always treat a person to a drink at a bar even if he was an enemy.

sort of 'supernatural' atmosphere, because if the story had a happy atmosphere the lady would probably arrive and be friendly and approachable, but in the black veil she is quiet and it creates the sense of her being almost motionless, slow and unusual.

back what he was describing until the 4th line the poet uses the vague idea of beauty to embody the city, rather than exaggerating certain details to make it seem like a beautiful place. Also by not revealing his subject, Wordsworth gives the poem a slight feeling of mystery making them feel intrigued by whatever the poem is about.

In the poem, 'My Last Duchess', the duke explains how she was his LAST duchess and what happened to her. Browning's poem is a dramatic monologue and the 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' being a ballad which is known for the end to be tragic in French meaning the beautiful woman with no mercy.

This opening is very important in the poem as it opens with an enormous sad atmosphere with the premature death of the boy's mother and the cries of the boy " 'weep weep weep weep' " We can imagine him crying and it instantly makes us identify with his fear and sadness.

of London that he sees and how the city is cloaked as though it were being worn. The use of "garment" is also significant as this represent something being worn, generally people will wear items that they are proud of and that would associate them with beauty, thus showing how

each chartered street, Near were the chartered Thames dose flow" In this phrase he is describing the streets and the river Thames as 'Chartered' because they are full of laws. The cause of this was because the river Thames and the area surrounding it was generally known as the heart of the capital.